PGA Tour : AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am leaderboard here.
Of the seven Canadians playing this week at this version of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am former champion Nick Taylor is joined by Adam Svensson T33 after opening rounds -3 69 at PB.
Other Canadians : Michael Gligic and Taylor Pendrith are both T51 after -2 70's on MP.
David Hearn and Adam Hadwin are T87 after E 72, and Mac Hughes is also T87 on the toughest of the three courses Spy Glass Hill (SH) after E 71.
The first round leader, American Tom Hoge is off to a stunning start -9 63 (MP) while in form Seamus Power from Ireland continued his great play this season with -8 64 on (PB)
Round two is just underway on a sunny cool day on the beautiful, scenic and extraordinarily expensive Monterey Peninsula.
Opinion: In this changing world of pro golf, with the new International Series on the Saudi backed Asian Tour paying so many PGA/European pros huge appearance fees there are at least 40 guys this week led by Dustin Johnson. Xander Schauffele, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson and many more who are in Saudi Arabia instead of here, where they have been regulars over the years.
It's almost like 1961 in MLB when Curt Flood led the way with the unions backing, to free agency, playing for whomever paid him the most, that opened the gates to the obscene amounts today's ball players are making from even more obscenely rich owners backed by lucrative TV contracts.
SENTOSA GC, Dubai
The Saudi regime has decided they want to get in on the money the PGA Tour is making, and at the same time follow along with Dubai making their Middle East events a must go to destination for tourists to come and play and perhaps buy a winter home. If you've been watching the Saudi International you will have see the massive subdivision grids laid out all around the course that will be full of houses in 20 years.
Too many, because of all this new money, the pro game is in a mess as the established PGA/European tours who have had the place to themselves, now have noisy new neighbours.
For the players, it's the beginning of a new, very lucrative era as long as the Saudi money, as dirty as many deem it to be, keeps flowing.
Bryan Angus
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